TOP TEAM
JO RICE, HEAD OF EDUCATION, THE ASHMOLEAN
What was your department’s
overall role in the redevelopment?
The education department was instrumen-
tal in the gallery development. We looked
at the interpretation approach from a learn-
ing point of view and thought about who
the galleries are for and how we could
best communicate the stories the curators
wanted to tell. So we had that educational
input at the earliest stage. That’s absolutely
fundamental. What we didn’t want was, as
happened in the past, to have a gallery
completed without educational involve-
ment and then be asked to fi nd some programme for post-secondary and post-
groups to work in it and encourage people 16-year-olds, both of which are completely
to come. If you’ve thought about who’s new sessions. Early years is a different
going to use the gallery, how it’s going to approach for us – the Ashmolean has
work from very early stages, you’ll have a never traditionally been thought of as a
much more effective space from an educa- venue for the under fi ves.
tional point of view for different audiences. We’re also doing completely new pro-
We were also involved in the develop- grammes for our primary school audience
ment of the education centre and worked and completely rethinking how we do our
with the architects on the design. sessions. We’re moving into a much more
investigative approach for seven- to 11-year-
Why was the new education
olds with learning by handling objects in
centre needed?
the gallery, as well as discussions.
Before the redevelopment, there was no We’ve been able to give the school side
designated education space. We did much a completely dramatic overhaul and we
of our teaching in the galleries, which is have great hopes for how that will develop.
how it should be, but we didn’t have any- We’re also doing more things for our
where to do messier artwork, quiet work, adult audience, we’re being more proactive
teacher training sessions or somewhere for with young people outside school educa-
a greater range of activities. tion, we’re doing an expanded What’s On (Above) the Ashmolean museum’s
programme for individual visitors and we’re collection of Islamic pottery, mainly
What do you offer now you
expanding the family learning programme. from the Barlow Collection, is said to
have your own space?
We’re currently recruiting a family learning be one of the most important of its
We’ve got a programme for group visits offi cer and will then offer family activities type outside of the Islamic world
from early years to key stage 2, and a every day of the school holidays.
RICK MATHER, RICK MATHER ARCHITECTS
What was your brief for the project?
“THE BIG CHALLENGE WAS
To make sense of the old building and get
as much new space out of it as possible.
TRYING TO GET SIX
Also, the roof had blown off of the old
building and there was no environmental
DIFFERENT LEVELS TO
control. They knew they had to do a lot of
rebuilding, and that’s what we did. They SEEM LIKE ONE BIG SPACE
wanted an education centre and a new
conservation space and they didn’t have a
RATHER THAN A SERIES
service entrance either.
It was a really modern museum brief.
OF FINITE GALLERIES”
They didn’t say they needed a new res-
taurant, but when it looked as though it the whole building together. The big chal- the different galleries. It makes it seem as
would be nice to have one on the roof, they lenge was trying to get six different levels though it’s one continuous thing rather
thought that would be a good idea too. to seem like one big space rather than a than a museum that might have lost galler-
series of fi nite galleries. So we have this ies up in some corner, which no one can
What’s your favourite part?
big atrium space that the stair steps up get to. Now you have a continuum through
The staircase that steps up to the roof in a through, and then we have similar stairs every gallery and that links into the old
series of interlocking curves. Besides the at another corner. People coming around building too, so we have the seamless link
fact that it looks pretty nice, it actually ties the corner really feel that they can see into between the old and the new.
58 Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital AM 1 2010
©
cybertrek 2010
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